''Paradolichopithecus'' is an extinct genus of cercopithecine monkey once found throughout
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...
. The type species, ''P. arvernensis'', was a very large monkey, comparable in size to a
mandrill
The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males ...
. The genus was most closely related to
macaque
The macaques () constitute a genus (''Macaca'') of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and (in one instance) Gibraltar. Macaques are principal ...
s, sharing a very similar cranial morphology. The fossils attributed to ''Paradolichopithecus'' are known from the Early
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Early Pleistocene of Europe (France, Spain, Greece, Romania, and Serbia) and Asia (Tajikistan and China). The East Asian fossil genus ''Procynocephalus'' is considered by some to represent a
senior synonym
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...
of ''Paradolichopithecus.''
Description
''Paradolichopithecus'' was a terrestrial monkey generally believed to have developed a large body size as a response to predator pressure, estimated to be similar in weight to the mandrill (~31 kg). Despite its close relation to macaques, it also shared a number of postcranial features with baboons. Its ankle joints also show a remarkable similarity with that of the hominid ''
Australopithecus
''Australopithecus'' (, ; ) is a genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genus ''Homo'' (which includes modern humans) emerged within ''Australopithecus'', as sister to e.g. ''Austral ...
'', and it has led to the idea that ''Paradolichopithecus'' may frequently have moved in a bipedal stance. The limbs of this genus were robust with prominent areas of muscular attachment, notably found on the humerus which had a length of 22.5 cm. The radius of this specimen was longer than the humerus as seen in the mandrill, measuring 25.2cm although it was also broader in structure than current mandrills and baboons.
A fossil of this primate shows the talus bone having features much more alike
Australopithecines
Australopithecina or Hominina is a subtribe in the tribe Hominini. The members of the subtribe are generally ''Australopithecus'' ( cladistically including the genera ''Homo'', ''Paranthropus'', and '' Kenyanthropus''), and it typically includ ...
than modern baboons or chimpanzees, such as shape and placement, although some features are similar to bipedally trained
Japanese macaques
The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the g ...
. The distal tibia found also has a distinctly more massive and square
malleolus
A malleolus is the bony prominence on each side of the human ankle.
Each leg is supported by two bones, the tibia on the inner side (medial) of the leg and the fibula on the outer side (lateral) of the leg. The medial malleolus is the promine ...
, differing from macaques or baboons and again showing a similarity to hominins. The morphology and width of the tibia shows that this primate had specific weight-bearing adaptations for terrestrial locomotion. The proximal humerus found in this site has a deep and wide attachment groove for the biceps along with a larger articulation area on the head, which relates to the increased mobility possible for the elbow joint found.